Case Study – Client Satisfaction Research:

When a Strategic Partner’s Performance Undermines the Client Experience

Anova Client

Large Institutional Investment and Financial Services Company

The Situation

Anova’s client was losing business and receiving feedback from its clients that the co-servicing relationship it had established with a strategic partner was undermining client satisfaction. Senior management wanted to learn more about the origin and evolution of these problems to provide evidence that the company’s strategic partner needed to initiate significant corrective measures.

The Response

Anova was engaged to implement a sweeping “Client Satisfaction Research” program that focused on identifying touch points in the service delivery stream where clients’ needs and expectations were not being met consistently. Among other things, this effort highlighted that the company’s clients were highly dissatisfied with the co-servicing model being utilized with its strategic partner. They reported that the company’s products were not performing as expected, its customer support was difficult to utilize, its client communications were poor, and that there was a noticeable lack of cohesion between our client and its partner, which was resulting in finger-pointing and frustration. To make matters worse, the poor quality of the experience the company was offering its existing clients was beginning to spread via word of mouth, damaging its previously stellar reputation in the marketplace.

The Outcome

Our client used the Anova “Client Satisfaction Research” results to create a sense of urgency and to act as a catalyst for change in its relationship with its strategic partner. Together, they improved a variety of process and product deficiencies, addressed internal and client-facing communication gaps, and implemented a new compensation arrangement requiring that certain service standards be met. As a result, follow-up surveys conducted by Anova indicated that overall levels of client satisfaction had increased by nearly 30 percent. Furthermore, Anova continues to monitor these trends and our “Customer Satisfaction Research” capabilities have been made an ongoing component of our client’s servicing protocol.